“When Men are employ’d they are best contented. For on the Days they work’d they were good-natur’d and chearful; and with the consciousness of having done a good Days work they spent the Evenings jollily; but on the idle Days they were mutinous and quarrelsome, finding fault with their Pork, the Bread, and in continual ill-humour.” —Benjamin Franklin (1771)

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Minorities respond to how much Trump has helped them.Air quality is as good as ever, so why’s the EPA still around?The hoopla over 3D-printed guns is ridiculous. Here’s why.The Chinese can politically target tariffs, effectively hacking our elections.Democratic socialism? Be careful what you wish for.Trump “undermines” ObamaCare, panic ensues.Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.Publisher’s Note: August Break Next WeekFortunately, the House has adjourned for its August recess, though the Senate will remain in session thanks to Democrat obstruction. And in any case, the din of the Beltway Demo/Leftmedia rancor1 will take no holiday. Because The Patriot Post team operates on a very tight budget, both in terms of manpower and financial resources, our content and quality would suffer if we were a man down during the year while providing our editors and staff a week off with their families. Thus, as they all need a break from the rigors of relentless publishing deadlines, we pause our operations for a week in August.

Of course, our Top Headlines2 and Right Opinion3 sections will be updated throughout the coming week. Our Patriot Humor edition will be delivered on schedule Monday, and you’ll hear from Mark Alexander Wednesday. (If you’re not subscribed to Patriot Humor or Alexander’s Column, log in to your account4 and select those options.) We’ll be back on the regular publication schedule on Monday, Aug. 13.

IN BRIEFThe ‘Most Pro-Black,’ Pro-American President5

Thomas Gallatin

“To be honest, [Donald Trump] is probably going to be … the most pro-black president that we’ve had in our lifetime because … this president actually wants to prove something to our community, our faith-based community, and our ethnic community,” stated6 Pastor Darrell Scott during a meeting with inner-city pastors Trump held at the White House this week. The meeting was aimed at reflecting upon the successful and continuing efforts to revitalize inner-city communities and the need to enact prison reform.

Trump thanked Scott for his encouraging words and noted the economic success over the last 18 months. “We’ve increased and created 3.7 million more jobs since Election Day,” Trump said. “African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates have reached the lowest levels in recorded history, meaning history — the lowest levels ever. African-American and Hispanic, Asian also, women also — [lowest in] 66 years.” He added, “We’ve launched a bold workforce training initiative. So far, over 100 companies and associations have already pledged to train and retrain over four million Americans. So important, because we have companies, once again, coming back into our country, and they want to employ people. So we’re training and working with these people, and we’re getting companies to do the same.”

Trump also highlighted the need to create greater employment opportunity for those coming out of prison. “Our focus on opportunity for every citizen includes helping former prisoners,” he said. “These citizens reentering society have had a tough time. We want them to get jobs so they don’t have to return to a life of crime and go back into the same prison where they just got out. I mean, this has been a tremendous problem, and the best thing we could do, actually, is exactly what we’re doing — creating an environment where the country is doing so well.”

Meanwhile, the latest employment numbers continue the positive economic trend7. This bolsters Trump’s agenda for getting all Americans back to work, where they can more freely better themselves and take greater responsibility for their own livelihoods. In July, headline unemployment dropped to 3.9%, near a half-century low. And all Americans are seeing the benefits. Unemployment among blacks sits at 6.6%, Hispanics at 4.5%, and for Asians it declined to 3.1%.

All this good economic news for the U.S. is translating into growing popularity numbers for Trump, even among minority groups. Recent polling indicates that Trump’s approval rating has been steadily increasing among both Hispanics and blacks, up 10% since January among the latter group. And this upward tick is happening despite the 24/7 anti-Trump news coverage8 from the mainstream media. That’s because Trump’s policies are having a real impact upon people’s lives. It’s not all talk and no action.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual “Our Nation’s Air11” report is hot off the press. Notwithstanding the ecofascists’ complaints to the contrary, the report underscores the impressive extent to which our nation’s air has been purified.

Since 1990, air pollutant concentrations are astonishingly improved. Carbon monoxide eight-hour concentration is down 77%. Some other reductions include lead three-month average (80%), nitrogen dioxide (50% and 56% depending on the time interval), eight-hour ozone (22%), particulate matter (between 34% and 41% depending on the variable), and one-hour sulfur dioxide (88%). The report also notes that “from 1990 to 2014 emissions of air toxics declined by 68 percent.”

This while the economy’s taking off. According to the report, “Between 1970 and 2017, the combined emissions of the six common pollutants … dropped by 73 percent. This progress occurred while the U.S. economy continued to grow, Americans drove more miles and population and energy use increased.” In fact, Investor’s Business Daily points out12, “By comparison, during that time the U.S.‘ economy grew 262% and its population by 60%.”

IBD also offers this important sidebar: “Not included in the report, but equally if not more significant, is the fact that CO2 — the main greenhouse gas — overall has plunged 29% since peaking in 2007. That’s been the relentless focus of global warming activists and the left-leaning power elites from their policy perches.”

And as for the ecofascists’ forthcoming demands for additional regulations in light of the demonstrable improvements made by past government oversight, IBD cautions, “The problem with this, of course, is that ‘tougher’ rules are often counter-productive. There’s something in economics called the 80-20 rule, or Pareto principle, that’s valid here. It says that 80% of the improvement in anything comes from 20% of the effort. The final 20% of improvement requires 80% of the total effort — often a waste of money and effort. That’s where we are with environmental improvements, unfortunately.”

“And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:7)

There are seven “I am’s” in the book of Genesis. The first is a beautiful figure of speech (“I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward,” Genesis 15:1), but the others are all names and titles of God. The first of these is in our text above, identifying Jehovah Himself (the LORD) with the “I am.”

The next is Genesis 17:1: “I am the Almighty God.” The Hebrew here is El Shaddai (“God the nourishing sustainer”), also found in 35:11. Next is in 26:24: “I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee.” Then, “I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac” (28:13). “I am the God of Bethel” (31:13). Beth-el means “the house of God.” Finally, God says: “I am God, the God of thy father” (46:3).

In Exodus, there are 21 places where God says “I am.” Most of these are merely variations of the different names of God as noted above in the “I am’s” of Genesis, but six do give new insight. The first, of course, is the great assertion of Exodus 3:14 where God identifies Himself as “I Am That I Am.” The others: “I am the LORD in the midst of the earth” (8:22); “I am the LORD that healeth thee” (15:26); “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God” (20:5); “For I am gracious” (22:27); “I am the LORD that doth sanctify you” (31:13).

In the remaining books of the Pentateuch, the phrase “I am the LORD your God” occurs very frequently, but there are two important new “I am’s.” “I am holy” occurs six times (e.g., Leviticus 11:45), and “I am thy part and thine inheritance” is recorded in Numbers 18:20. The great theme of all these claims and names of God is that the mighty God of time and space is also a caring, personal God. We can trust Him, and He cares for us. HMM

For Questions Or Comments: berean@execpc.com_______________________________________________

Fulness Of Joyby Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

About 3,000 years ago David wrote in Psalm 16:11: “…In Thy presence is fulness of joy….” He was right, for there is no greater joy than personal fellowship with God. Yet David could not know the fulness of joy now spoken of in Paul’s epistles, for he did not know Christ, who later came into the world as God, manifested in the flesh, to die for our sins. He did not know that Christ would make full satisfaction for sin and be raised from the dead to confirm our justification. Nor did David know that believers would be given Christ’s resurrection life, and a position, and “all spiritual blessings IN THE HEAVENLIES in Christ” (Eph. 2:4-6; 1:3).

When Paul wrote that God has called believers “unto the fellowship of His Son”, he referred to a spiritual, heavenly fellowship, far more intimate and precious than any previously enjoyed by mortal man. This fellowship is to be enjoyed by faith, but it is faith based on fact, the fact that Christ indeed died our death and rose again from the dead that we might partake of His life and enjoy a position at God’s right hand in Christ. This is why the Apostle Paul urges believers of this dispensation of grace to “seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God”(Col. 3:1).

Peter and John both came to know much of this fellowship through Paul, who was sent to Jerusalem “by revelation” to make known to the leaders there “THAT GOSPEL WHICH I PREACH AMONG THE GENTILES” (See Galatians 2:2-9; II Peter 3:15-18). This is why John writes in I John 1:3,4: “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL”.

Every believer, however limited and veiled from human eye his sphere of life--will create a public sentiment respecting himself. His relations, his friends, his neighbors--will form their opinion of his character, doings and life.

Few pass through life incognito to eternity!

Few slide through society unseen, unnoticed, unfelt.

Each individual Christian should especially live for an object. He should so live as to make his talents, influence, and example count upon the present and eternal well-being of all with whom He comes in contact.

"No man lives to himself."

As a "light"--He is to shine!

As "salt"--He is to influence!

As a "witness"--He is to testify for Christ.

In a world like this, where there is . . . so much evil to correct, so much temptation to resist, so much sorrow to soothe, so much need to supply, so much misery to counteract, so much ignorance to instruct, so much good to be done--none need be idle, dreaming away existence, vegetating in selfishness--not living for man, or laboring for God.

We are gliding down the stream onward to eternity! Shall we spend our fleeting moments in grasping at the floating straw--when for every moment and act of our present course, we shall soon be cited at Christ's bar for scrutiny and judgment?

Souls are perishing!

Ignorance of the gospel is prevailing!

Iniquity is abounding!

Satan is unslumbering!

Death plies its scythe, and the grave yawns each moment! An eternity of bliss or of woe is gathering deathless beings to its bosom, at every stroke of the pendulum!

Then came the congressional obstructions. As a bloc, Senate Democrats have slowed the confirmation process at an unprecedented level. A July 2018 report noted the striking differences between the confirmation of Trump’s nominations and the nominations of previous administrations. At a similar time in their presidencies, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama had 80%, 84%, 72%, and 75% of their nominees confirmed, respectively. Trump has 57%.

Consider the effect that slowing the confirmation process has on “democracy.” The democratic process gives power to representatives who vote on behalf of the people (which is why we’re a democratic republic, not a democracy). Obstruction challenges rather than supports this process.

Obstructionism also negatively effects the people of this country. Having a government without the full staff of agency heads and other employees makes everything inefficient for the people. Additionally, obstruction hurts the American people by denying them qualified people in key positions.

Consider the case of Andy Puzder31, nominated for secretary of labor. The son of an immigrant, Puzder worked his way through law school and ultimately became CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Junior. He knows the value of hard work and understands how to unleash the productivity of the American worker.

In his book, The Capitalist Comeback32, Puzder recounts how protesters came to his front door, held a rally in his town, and drove a billboard through his neighborhood accusing him of abusing women. Perhaps the most alarming incident happened in the form of a mysterious package addressed to his wife. It contained white powder, a paper doll with a noose around its neck, and a pink piece of paper with the words “TRUMP.” Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Sadly, Puzder withdrew his nomination33 after lack of support in the Senate. Did the protesting, intimidation, and obstruction “save” democracy?

The most recent blockade has been against Judge Brett Kavanaugh34, a highly qualified jurist who sits on the DC Circuit Court. A graduate of Yale Law School, Kavanaugh also lectures at Harvard Law School (he was hired35 by Elena Kagan when she served as dean of the school). Lauded by Right and Left as a brilliant jurist, Judge Kavanaugh now faces baseless attacks on his character36, his family, and his legal record. Isn’t obstructing a qualified jurist “endangering democracy”?

Even the quintessential American sport, football, has been weaponized. The national anthem, long held as the symbol of unity for the American people, has been transformed into a political statement by those hoping to #resist. However, are these people resisting Trump, or American values? How does this “save democracy”?

The resistance also calls for abolishing37 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Perhaps the most visible has been the Occupy ICE campaigns, such as the Portland38 campaign, which left the protest area with blocks of trash, bottles, and used needles. Does protesting and trashing property “save democracy”?

Many people have begun to question the validity of #resist and the ideology of those who support it. The #WalkAway movement39 has revealed an awakening of more traditional liberals who do not subscribe to violence, bigotry, and hateful distain for those with whom they disagree.

As Ronald Reagan stated40, “You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There’s only an up or down: [up] man’s old — old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.”

Reagan understood that dividing lines did not fall between Right or Left. Rather, they fell between Liberty and tyranny. Returning to this basic understanding of America helps to shed light on what #resist represents. The resistance blockades the American people, American values, and American patriotism. The resistance subscribes to violence, lewdness, and bigotry. While considering themselves “progressives,” resistance members regress downward to a divided nation and a country that cannot move forward. Ultimately, they resist unity, democracy, and forward-thinking policy. Ironically, they #resist progress.

The ADA Is a Serial Litigator’s Dream41 — While well-meaning, the ADA has spawned a cottage industry of unscrupulous lawsuits.Video: Fighting the Deep State42 — There’s not much doubt about its existence. The question is, what can Donald Trump do about it?

OPINION IN BRIEF

Ed Feulner: “Tax experts at The Heritage Foundation used IRS data to calculate the effects of last December’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and found that in 2018 taxpayers will save an average of $1,400. Married couples with two children will save more than twice that: $2,917. And when I say ‘nationwide,’ I mean it. A new report by Heritage’s Kevin Dayaratna, Parker Sheppard and Adam Michel shows that every U.S. congressional district will enjoy these tax benefits. … Not a single district will fail to see a tax benefit of some kind, thanks to the TCJA. … Unfortunately, there’s a caveat. The TCJA expires in 2025, so the Heritage experts had to roll this into their calculations. They also had to assume Washington will continue running large and unsustainable deficits. Both of these factors constitute a large drag on an economy that is otherwise growing at an impressive clip. So why would [Nancy] Pelosi hint that she and other members of her party want to repeal the TCJA? … Far from repealing it, we need to make it permanent. Doing so would improve any economic benefits even more dramatically. Imagine how well our economy would perform if the money currently being wasted in Washington was saved, spent and invested by the people who produce it. Mrs. Pelosi wants to ‘revisit the tax legislation.’ Agreed. Let’s drop the expiration date.”

SHORT CUTS

Upright: “Those who can claim membership in the less privileged group have a license to retaliate against the privileged. Claiming to lack privilege confers the privilege of being excused for behaving badly.” —Nathanael Blake

Braying Jenny: “Right after Al Franken attacked … Jeff Sessions, he suddenly became the target of the right wing to get him out of office. … And the Democrats decided, ‘Oh, we’re going to take the high road,’ and they basically lost a really good senator, in my opinion. … That was a sophomoric joke by a comedian in a time when he didn’t know he was going to become a senator. He was fooling around. He was a comic. And, to his credit, he said, ‘She didn’t have any ability to consent. She had every right to feel violated by that photo.’ So he’s a gentleman, and he took the hit. And now, can we please move on and get the great senator back and get rid of the president?” —"The View’s" Joy Behar

Hot air: “Since civilization emerged 10,000 years ago, we haven’t had this kind of heat condition, and it’s going to continue getting worse and that’s the way it is.” —California Gov. Jerry Brown

Non Compos Mentis: “We have no equivalent to the dark carnival that is a trump [sic] rally. This is not a thing on the left. We just argue about healthcare and climate and sometimes relitigate 2016 but we are not actually out of our minds.” —Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)

Setting up Trump to blame his rhetoric for any attack…. “I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way.” —CNN’s Jim Acosta

And last… “To reporters … complaining [about] your treatment at Trump rallies: Now [you] know what it’s like for conservatives invited [to] speak at college campuses. … I wish you were treated differently. But maybe [you] should cover college protests differently now.” —Ari Fleischer

Join our editors and staff in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

“During the course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been levelled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety.” —Thomas Jefferson (1805)

IN TODAY’S EDITION

CNN’s Acosta complains of Trump’s rhetoric. That’s rich.Divisive LeBron James blames divisiveness on Trump. That’s rich, too.Resisting progress is all members of #resist are actually achieving.The ADA has become a serial litigator’s dream.Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.

IN BRIEFCNN’s Jim Acosta Can’t Take What He Dishes1

Thomas Gallatin

CNN reporter Jim Acosta was in Tampa, Florida, covering President Donald Trump’s Tuesday rally. At one point during Acosta’s live coverage of the event, a group of Trump supporters loudly chanted “CNN sucks!” Acosta, whose obsessively negative anti-Trump reporting has earned the ire of both the president and many conservatives, sought to portray the behavior of the rally-goers in the worst and most dramatic light possible. “Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa,” he lamented from the fainting couch. “I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy.”

Where was Acosta’s concern over “hostility whipped up” by people at anti-Trump rallies? Or how about his own insinuation that Trump supporters are dangerously stupid? In an interview with Variety, he haughtily asserted, “They don’t have all their faculties and in some cases their elevator might not hit all floors.”

Acosta complained, “[Trump] is whipping these crowds up into a frenzy to the point where they really want to come after us.” Nothing like Maxine Waters calling for harassment3 of Trump officials, or a Bernie Sanders fanboy attempting to murder Republicans4, we’re sure.

But Acosta also leveled blame at Fox News, adding, “My sense of it is that these opinions these folks have at these rallies, they’re shaped by what they see in the primetime hours of Fox News and what they hear from some conservative news outlets that just sort of give them this daily diet of what they consider to be terrible things we do over here at CNN.” He even had the gumption to accuse Fox opinion commentator Sean Hannity of “peddling lies every night” “for profit.” Talk about throwing stones from glass houses. The irony here is that Acosta is the one who claims the mantel of a journalist, something Hannity regularly notes he is not. Yet Acosta assumes that his own opinion of Hannity equates to journalistic reporting of the truth. That’s not journalism; it’s hubris.

It’s precisely this elitist, condescending, know-it-all attitude regularly displayed by much of the mainstream media that has brought on Americans’ ire and distrust. Hannity was kind enough to point this out to Acosta, stating, “I’m actually going to give your network some advice, if you have an open mind and an open heart, maybe a little bit of humility. The people of this country are screaming at you for a reason. They don’t like your unfair, abusively biased treatment of the president of the United States.” That, in a nutshell, is why Acosta will continue to fail.

Superstar basketball player LeBron James sat down for an interview6 with CNN’s Don Lemon to discuss the opening of his “I Promise School” in his home town of Akron, Ohio. We’re certainly glad to see James using his vast wealth to give back to the less fortunate. But in explaining his motivation for starting the school, which focuses on developing students both academically and athletically, James raised the issue of how “this race thing has taken over.” Why? Because, James insists, President Donald Trump is “dividing us.” James opined, “What I’ve noticed over the past few months [is] he’s kinda used sports to kinda divide us, and that’s something that I can’t relate to.” He further added, “Sports has never been something that divides people. It’s always been something that brings someone [sic] together.”

James displays a clear lack of knowledge of sports history. Part of the whole point of sports is that fans are divided over teams they fervently support. To be fair, that’s not his point; James is referring to political and social issues brought up in sports. But who exactly has been using sports as a divisive platform to express a negative view of the nation as a whole? Well, it ain’t Trump. How about Colin Kaepernick and his adolescent protesting during the national anthem, which spread like cancer through the rest of the NFL? Or how about James’s fellow NBA star — and Finals nemesis — Stephen Curry and his public decision to reject a visit to the White House before he even received an invitation?

It’s rich for James to wax eloquent about how divisive Trump is and how he himself is all about bringing people together, only to then assert in the same interview that he “would never sit across from him” when asked what he would say to Trump if he met him face to face. How inclusive. Clearly, James has exposed himself as nothing more than another wealthy leftist elitist who sees no contradiction in his refusal to meet or speak with the president while blaming that president for the very division he himself is causing.

Just as the mainstream media seeks to heap all the blame on Trump because much of the nation refuses to accept biased news, James sees a fanbase divided over the anti-American protests of entitled athletes and blames the guy least responsible — Trump.

Immediately following the 2016 election, #resist became a battle cry for those opposed to the presidency of Donald Trump. Resistance has come in many forms: social media campaigns, protests, intimidation, congressional obstructionism, and in some cases violence no doubt brought on by Trump Derangement Syndrome2. Those who participate in #resist claim they are helping to “save democracy.” Or, as Dennis Prager observed30, it’s “as if they were American reincarnations of the French who fought real Nazis in World War II.”

The question remains, “Are they?”

The resistance made its first public appearance at the inauguration. Breaking windows, lighting cars on fire, and striking fear into those who attended the event, #resist certainly made the news. But does violence and vandalism “save democracy”?

At the so-called Women’s March, angry attendees wore genitalia hats and costumes, while Madonna said she’d like to “blow up the White House.” Saving democracy? You can decide.

“But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus.” (2 Timothy 2:16-17)

Paul’s earlier warning about “word fights” (2 Timothy 2:14) is strengthened in the text above with a different emphasis. Word fights are “picky” debates started by quarrelsome people. They are useless and divisive. They create conflicts and schisms.

Profane and vain babblings, however, are worldly and valueless “noise.” Less obvious and more subtle than fighting, they have the effect of destroying godliness. “But refuse profane [ungodly] and old wives’ fables [myths, baseless stories], and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).

Because “godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8), Paul strongly urged Timothy to “keep [guard] that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith” (1 Timothy 6:20-21).

The “oppositions” spoken of are the “antithesis”—the conflict, the stand against knowledge. Paul calls this anti-knowledge a pseudonumos—a false name. It sounds like knowledge but is not true.

The results of these “babblings” are not good. Ungodliness will increase. Error will eat away at spiritual health and truth like gangrene. The two church leaders that Paul mentions, Hymenaeus and Philetus, are listed as examples of such a cancer. They taught that the resurrection had already occurred for the saints.

Peter’s warning is very similar: “Beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness” (2 Peter 3:17). HMM III

For Questions Or Comments: berean@execpc.com_______________________________________________

The Wonders Of His Graceby Pastor Paul M. Sadler

Scripture Reading:

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” — II Corinthians 8:9

Whether the occasion is a holiday, a birthday celebration, or a graduation, it is customary to give a gift. While some gifts are given out of necessity, for the most part, a gift is an expression of our love. We normally bestow these tokens of our affection on those whom we feel deserve the honor. But God’s ways are not our ways. He gave the gift of His beloved Son to His enemies. That’s a true love story! Oh, the wonder of His grace that God sent His only begotten Son, the Son of His love, to save sinners like you and me while we were fleeing from the glory of His presence. Little wonder the Apostle Paul says, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (II Cor. 9:15).

The word “unspeakable” here has the idea of “indescribable.” The gifts I’ve received through the years were all describable. Some may have been a little harder to describe than others, but describable nonetheless! But the gift of God’s dear Son is indescribable. Who can explain the incarnation, how the eternal Son of God left heaven’s glory and took upon Himself the form of human flesh, yet was not tainted with our sin. Who can explain how Christ was wholly God and wholly human in one person? These wonders can only be received through the eye of faith.

The manger and the Cross stand at the two extremes of our Lord’s life, but they are connected by the tapestry of redemption. Hence, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” A love story that ends with a death is tragic; in contrast, the death of Christ is the greatest demonstration of love this world has ever seen. How much does God love you? He gave His only begotten Son to die on your behalf. You see, Christ wasn’t dying for His sin, He knew no sin; He was dying for your sins and my sins at Calvary. He was made sin for us that we might receive the righteousness of God in Him. Have you trusted Him?

Surely you would never think of paying for a gift; why, the giver would be highly offended — how much more so with God. The payment for your sins has already been furnished by the Giver; simply receive Him as a gift from God. If you have, then why not thank Him today for His unspeakable gift? After all, this is the Gift that includes all others!

"Catch the foxes--the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes!" Song of Songs 2:15

The little things of life are most important. Those who affect to despise the importance of little things, are in danger of becoming little people. Certainly no great man will ever do so. He will the rather prove his greatness by a hearty recognition of the truth of the wise saying, "He who despises little things, shall fall little by little."

The Great Teacher drew some of His most beautiful and important lessons from little things--such as little flowers, little birds, little dew-drops, little children. He insisted on faithfulness in littles.

My friend, life is great because it is the aggregation of littles.

As the coral reefs which rear themselves high above the crawling sea beneath, are all made up of minute skeletons of microscopic animalcules; so life, mighty and solemn as having eternal consequences; life that hangs over the sea of eternity--is made up of these minute incidents, of these trifling duties, of these small tasks. Only those who are faithful in the least are, or can be, faithful in the whole.

Little things make either . . . the joy--or the sorrow, the success--or the ruin, the safety--or the danger, the grandeur--or the smallness--of human life.

Illustrations of this principle abound:

Little neglects lead to great ruin.

Little precautions lead to great safety.

Little wastings make great losses.

Little savings make great gains.

Little troubles make us miserable.

Little virtues make us godly.

Little vices make us wicked.

Therefore, says inspired Wisdom, "Catch the foxes--the little foxes that spoil the vines," which is equivalent to saying, "I know you will keep out the more hateful and destructive full-grown foxes, by stopping up all the large holes in the vineyard fence. Your danger lies in overlooking the smaller gaps by which the little foxes may enter, and thus spoil your vines by robbing them of the tender grapes."

How forcibly may this advice be urged upon Christian people! They will be almost certain to secure their character against the intrusion of shameful vices, destructive sins, and great scandals. But are they always so careful to stop the smaller breaches in the fence of their Christian character against the little foxes, lesser sins, smaller vices, and trifling moral blemishes which, nevertheless, spoil the loveliness and nobility of their lives? Judging from observation and experience, I fear not.

In this book, we will point out some "little foxes" that do much damage in the Christian vineyard, and invite our readers to hunt them down!

Late-night talk shows were once a welcome distraction from the stresses of life for millions of Americans, but no more. Late-night comedians have become self-righteous moralizers, raging against President Donald Trump as a modern-day American Hitler, while excoriating his supporters as either ignorant rubes or willing accomplices to Trump’s “crimes.” From Jimmy Kimmel’s ObamaCare cry-fests36 to Stephen Colbert’s vile and graphic anti-Trump shtick, everywhere you turn leftist comedians are trying to out-scold each other over who can hate Trump, Republicans, conservatives, and Christians the most.

In fact, comedy is being replaced by a form of anti-comedy, as personified by an Australian “comedian” named Hannah Gadsby, creator of “Nanette,” a stage show where Gadsby delves into her own experience with “gender and sexual trauma,” and how women and the LGBT crowd are mistreated and silenced. She lashes out at men — all men — for enabling such abuse. The New York Times calls the show “comedy-destroying.” It’s meant as a compliment.

Comedians no longer find common ground all Americans can relate to. Instead, they actively denigrate half the population to the vitriolic glee of the other half.

Of course, not all comedians have followed that path. Many have just given up37. Jerry Seinfeld, the undisputed King of Comedy for a generation, quit stand-up comedy because progressives have sucked all of the joy out of it. Instead, Seinfeld is working on the 10th season of a show called “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee,” which is exactly what it sounds like. He avoids political pot-stirring, and just talks humorously about life. He stopped performing on college campuses because today’s young “adults” can’t listen to comedy without getting enraged and offended. Black comedian Chris Rock, known for his no-holds-barred, edgy comedy, stopped performing on college campuses for the same reason.

And in an era when so-called liberals get their “news” from leftist comedians, they have lost the ability to identify hyperbole and satire. Recently, such “objective” journalistic outlets as The Washington Post, ABC News, NBC News, and Google News ran supposed news headlines highlighting attacks on President Trump38 by late-night talk show hosts. And this is news why? It’s not news, of course, but it allows the MSM another way to attack Trump.

It is a self-destructive cycle. The more hateful the attacks on the president and average Americans by late-night comedians, the more viewers they lose39. The more viewers they lose, the more hateful they become in their anti-Trump invective in order to maximize ratings among the remaining, increasingly radical-Left viewership.

As sad as this development is, it’s also dangerous. More and more, young progressives are becoming incapable of facing setbacks, disappointments, and dealing civilly with those of opposing viewpoints. They require safe spaces and “trigger warnings” in order to be protected from “microaggressions” and other leftist boogeymen. They cheer physical violence against political opponents.

The more they indulge this radical infantilism40, the more incapable they become of dealing with everyday life.

A recent study by three Harvard University psychologists found, “Trigger warnings may inadvertently undermine some aspects of emotional resilience. … This finding could have significant implications in the context of ongoing cultural debates about the power of language in reinforcing perceived oppression. That is, if we are telling students that words are akin to violence and can cause harm, and then giving them trigger warnings to compound that message, we risk increasing immediate anxiety responses rather than decreasing them.”

This type of emotional crippling has become so pervasive that a new sub-specialty has arisen in the psychiatric field; namely, treatment of “Trump Anxiety Disorder41,” in which the patient fears the world ending as a result of the presidency of Donald J. Trump. That’s an odd thing to fear when the economy is finally thriving and life is generally good in America.

Yet many leftists genuinely fear an economic collapse, the death of free speech, nuclear war with North Korea, and other doomsday scenarios, despite no realistic justification.

The Truth About Wildfires42 — The media’s emotional narrative is about climate change instead of a more accurate picture.Facebook Tackles Leftist Agitprop43 — Believe it or not, Facebook made a move this week that conservatives might cheer.Video: The End of Tipping?44 — Celebrities, union activists, and politicians demand a higher minimum wage for restaurant workers.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Gary Bauer: “Believe it or not, illegal immigrants are now suing the federal government over the treatment they received in our detention facilities. And, no, this has nothing to do with the controversial policy of family separation. We are told that these migrants suffered incredible hardships to get here. That they left countries where they feared being murdered by brutal gangs. That they trekked thousands of miles in fear of being raped. That they endured hunger and extreme thirst. Yet the moment they cross our border they suddenly turn into the equivalent of whiny college snowflakes. According to the lawsuit, migrants complained that their soup was cold, that the shelters were chilly, or that they only got two burritos a day. While some allegations are more serious, one illegal immigrant complained about her gluten allergy. Are we now required to provide gluten-free meals to illegal immigrants? Will we be required to provide Halal meals to some portion of the thousands of people crossing our borders from nations designated as ‘state sponsors of terrorism’? Millions of Americans in their 60s and 70s have moving stories of a parent or grandparent who arrived on the shores of this country fleeing persecution and strife. They came not carrying the flag of the country they were from but desperately wanting to wave the flag of this country. They came to a country without food stamps or welfare. And it would never have crossed their grateful minds to complain that the food was cold! Sarah Huckabee Sanders can’t eat dinner in a Virginia restaurant, but illegal immigrants have a right to gluten-free burritos?!”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “The minute you read something that you can’t understand, you can almost be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer.” —Will Rogers (1879-1935)

For the record: “This week, Charles Blahous of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University released a study25 taking a look at the cost of [Bernie] Sanders’ preferred [Medicare for All] program. The total: $32.6 trillion over 10 years. Over that same period, our total federal spending is projected at $56 trillion — and we’re already racking up debt like there’s no tomorrow on that budget. That means that we could double our taxes at every level and still not come close to covering Sanders’ program. Sanders responded to this unfortunate news by attacking the study, blaming the nefarious Koch brothers for sponsoring Blahous’ basic math. There’s only one problem: The Urban Institute, a left-leaning outlet, estimated the cost at $32 trillion. So this isn’t a right-left problem. It’s a basic math problem. Sanders doesn’t understand basic math. Or, more accurately, he doesn’t care about it.” —Ben Shapiro

Non Compos Mentis: “The solution to America’s immigration problems is open borders, under which the United States imposes no immigration restrictions at all. If the U.S. adopts this policy, the benefits will far outweigh the costs.” —Cato Institute’s Jeffrey Miron

Braying jackass: “Surely as we’re here today, nothing’s going to happen from his administration. We’re going to have to pass legislation [against 3D guns6]. Because they are just enslaved by the NRA.” —Chuck Schumer

And last… “Why are we so worried about 3D guns? Aren’t 2D guns even easier to conceal?” —Frank Fleming

Join our editors and staff in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.